Labeling machine



Jan. 10, 1933. c. R. FREDSELL LABELING MACHINE Filed July lO, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l am fw Jan. 10, 1933. c. R. FREDSELL LABELING MACHINE Filed July lO. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT- omer.

CHARLES R. FREDSELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO MCDONALD ENGINEERENG- CORPORATION, OF IBROOBTLYN, EW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK LABELENG MACHNE Application filed July 10,

This invention relates to labeling machines and has particular reference to the station of such machines at which place the article is supplied with adhesive to which at a succeeding station a label is attached.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanism including a flexible pad adapted to apply adhesive to articles having surfaces of curved' and angular shape to which the pad will conform, that is, from a normal flat plane position of the pad, a position the pad assumes when receiving an application of adhesive from a supply roll and thereafter transferred to the article by contact therewith and by said contact partly conform to the shape of the article.

Another object is to provide the pad, which is adapted to be wrapped around the article and conform to the shape thereof, with means such as followers to hold and force the pad against the curved or angular faces of the article and during this shaping action to obtain a close contact therewith along such irregular'shapes of the article assuring a perfeet coating of the adhesive thereto.

A still further object is to provide an adjusting means to vary the stroke at the forward end of the main slide and return always to one and the same reznwardl position so the follower fingers that are carried by this slide may function at this forward stroke end over a greater or less surface contact against the pad in forming around the shape of the article and at the rear end of the stroke tok bring the front face of the adhesive pad as this fully returns with the` main slide to a fixed position to receive adhesive to the face thereof.

Other' features of4 my invention will now 40 be described in connection with the accompanying` drawings forming part of this speciiicatien in which l have represented my adhesive applying means', after which I shall pointV out more particularly in the claims 45 those features which I believe to be new and of myY invention.

In the drawings: Figure l illustrates a plan view of my adiesiv-e applying means shown connected to 505 a reciprocating slide, used at the adhesive 1931. Serial l'o. 549,863.

applying station of a labeling machine, with my improvements incorporated, in relative position to an article to be applied with a coating of adhesive.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the parts as shown v5 in Fig. l, showing, also in broken lines, the usual adhesive applying rollers.

Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of a supplemental slide and showing a flexible pad detached, that is carried at the end of the slide.

F 8a is a detail view of the pad mounting showing` the lower end connection.

Fig. 4l is a. perspective view of a portion of the main slide showing at one side how the 65 hinged follower fingers are mounted.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the hinge members.

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show respectively in cross section a number of examples of article shapes, surfaces of which are to be coated with adhesive, and further showing the pad as it is formed to said shapes.

As shown, my improvement may be applied to any form of labeling machine wherein the article is first coated with adhesive and, at a later time, a label attached to said coating. It is therefore deemed unnecessary to show more than the station at which the adhesive is applied. Reference, however, may be had to the. labeling machine disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,746,988, to Otto Gr. Brautigam, patented' February 1l, 1930, but that machine and others now in use will not apply adhesive to curved and angular faces.

At this adhesive applying station, a main slide 2 is mounted in a suitable guide bracket 3 for reciprocation by a rock arm 4 which is actuated by a cam not shown, to move the slide in timed relation with the t) usual adhesive applying roll 5 and reciprocated to and from the article which is at rest on a movable support S when the slide makes its forward stroke.

Fitted within the slide and to have rela- SE tive movement thereto, is a suppleurental slide 6, the end of which is provided with a vertical bar? of comparatively narrow face, to which is attached a flexible pad 8, preferably of rubber and of such thickness to be lil firm yet bendable to fold and yield to varyin(Y shapes when aided by being pressed against the surfaces to which it is to be applied. The pad is preferably mounted on a bar 9 at its middle section in any suitable way, as by rivets, and cemented to this bar to become a part thereof which may be attached to the vert-ical bar 7 in such a manner to be quickly removable or replaced, and further to enable a vertical adjustment thereof on the bar 7. For this purpose the bar 7 is slotted at the top end, as at 7, to receive a clamping screw 9 that is threaded in the top end of the bar 9. At the lower end of the bar 9 an undercut recess 9" is provided of such length to permit of a vertical adjustment of this bar 9 corresponding with the slotted end 7 at the top of the bar 7. the recess 9 being guided at this lower end over a headed` pin 7. (See Fig. 3").

From this it will be seen the pad is adjustably supported vertically thereof and clamped to be firmly held at the top and bottom to the bar 7 of the slide 6. Different sizes of pads that are changeable, being of such height and width, depending of course on the size of the article. will have the sides 11 and 12. those portions extending each side of this middle section, where the bar 9 is attached. free to be wrapped or formed to correspond with the article shape after the initial contact with the article has been made. As stated. the slide 6 is mounted for movement with the main slide 2 and is arranged to have a fixed position relative thereto, but yieldable when the pad at its end is contacting with the article. For this reason the slide 6 is guided and carried by the main slide 2 in bearing brackets 13-1-1 having formed therein slotted ways 15-15 closed by caps 16-16 in which the slide 6 is movably held forward against an adjustable stop 17 mounted on the slide and secured by screws 17', the stop engaging the bearing wall 18 of the bracket 14 and the slide held thereto by a spring 19.

The main slide 2 at tbc front end has cxtended portions 20-20 forming a part of the bracket 14 arranged with guide ways 21--21 to receive adjustable angle brackets 22-22 for forward and rearward adjustment by one arm of thc angle and secured to such adjusted position by clamp screws 23-23 to receive hinge members 24-24 in ways of the other arm of the angle brackets f forlateral adjustment of the hinge members,

and held by clamp screws 25k-25'. The hinge members 24-24 include uprights 26-26. provided at the front faces with perforated. ears 27-27, and extending rearward from these uprights, and at the top and bottom are arms 28 that carry at their ends a strip 29, perforated along the. edges, to which springs 30 are connected that hold to a normal position pad following fingers that will now be described.

These pad follower fingers, indicated at 3l and 32, (see Figs. 1 and 2) are supported for swinging action in the uprights 26-26 by perforated hub portions 33 that take a position between the ears 27-27 and are pivoted at this point by rods 34e-S5. The hubs each have arms, one 36 extending inward to which plates 38 are attached that lie in a flat plane against the back of the pad and support the pad to nearly the middle section thereof to provide a flat plane for the front of the pad. this being desirable` when applying adhesive to this face. to hold the pad firm while the adhesive roll passes over its face. Opposite the arm 36 of each of the hubs and offset thereto are arms 39 extending outward and bent rearward. the ends of which are. perforated to receive one end of the springs 30 before referred to and by this means hold the follower fingers to this normal position, being stopped from further pull rearward by the arms 39 which engage with the front walls 40 of the upright hinge members 26-26 as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The plates 38 are somewhat wider than the arms 36 and present approximately a con tinuous contact surface against the back of the pad along the free ends on each side of this middle section.

From the foregoing it will be seen, when the slide is fully retracted and the supplemental slide held against the stop 17 by the spring 19 and the hinged follower fingers pulled rearward by their springs 30 against the stop walls 40. that the plates 38 are held in an aligned position to the back of the pad, and so support the same until the pad makes contact with the article. Before the slide moves forward the face 8 of the pad is given a coating of adhesive by the roller 5 making i its circuit over the face thereof in the wellknown manner. The main slide then makes its forward stroke and at a time when the pad contacts with the article the supplementaly slide will be retarded by this Contact, and the main slide continues. By this action the hinge members with the plates 38 'thereon will take varying angular positions as the pad advances, being held tightly to the pad by their springs 30 to make a perfect contact of the pad against the curved faces of the article as the pad is wrapped around the same, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. Also, any uneven shapes over the vertical distance to which the pad engages the article will be acted upon by these fingers to press the pad thereto since these fingers are separately controlled when free of the stop wall 40 and may assume uneven lines. In returning to the retracted position it will be understood the pad is selfrecovering to its normal flat plane form, being made of rubber and of suitable thickne: to do this.

In Figs. (i, 7 and 8, which show a number of examples of faces to be coated with adhesive, the mainv slide or the hinged members may require adjustment as will new be described. In Fig. 6 an article is shown of oval shape in cross-section and the main slide is shown as having brought the pad forward with the follower' fingers to make contact with the article as shown by the full line position. The supplemental slide 6 has traveled therewith to this point, the hinge pivot has correspondingly reached a point shown at a, and the main slide continues to move forward while the pad is held against further movement due to the contact with the article and: the follower fingers will take an angular position moving into such position more rapidly or slowly depending on the curve. that they` follow as this oval shape is presented to the pad. In this particular instance the main slide` is carried forward tofpoint Z9 further than as shown in Fig. 7 in which the shape of the article isv angular and where the main slide is adjusted to stop its forward stroke' at c having traveled a much shorter distance beyond the contact point a. InY Fig. 8 a concave shape at the center with.v curved ends is presented to the pad and in this case the pad first contacts with the two high spots` cZ- CZ of the article. 'Ihe follower fingers at this time are still supporting the pad to prevent the center thereof from contacting with the inner-face CZ of the article but on. a further motion of the main slide at a time when the stop17 has been relieved from the face 18 of the bearing wall and as soon as the fingers start to assume their angular shape over the curves, the center of the pad: will move into this concave form d. "I he fingers will be moved from the rear of the pad and the spring 19Y (in Fig. 2') forces the pad forward while the stroke of the main slide continues to a point approximately the samel as-that inv Fig. 6 tothe point e in this Fig. 8.

From the foregoing it will be understoodthat the main: slide stroke must be regulated at this front end to suit. varying shapes of articles so the follower fingers pivoted to this slide insome instances must be moved further forward. than in others, as indicated in these views, with relation to the supplemental. pad' carryingslide. This latter slide ceases to move forward when contact with the article is made, efr-cept as inA Fig. S, andis arranged to yield by the spring 1'9 while f the main slide Q' is still? moving forward, and

as shown in Fig. 6, which is an oval shape, the wrapping around of the pad sides must be carried out to a point further than would be required inl the example Fig. 7 where the angular flats F-F are shown and where the fingers stop abruptly when the same angle ask thel flats is reached, and the main slide must also-stop at this point. While the follower'fingers are mounted on the adjustable -holder arms` to be regulated and properly set, this adjustment may be used for this purpose instead of adjusting the main slide stroke, but it is more desirable to regulate only the stroke of the main slide to provide the varying forward stroke end by regulataconnection provided for the` main slide that is engaged by the slide actuating arm 4 to provide this varying forward stroke, returning always to the same rearward position. For this reason the'main slide 2 at the location where the arm 4 connects with a pin and a bearing block 46 by the slotted end 4T of arm 4 to reciprocate the slide as is the general practice, the pivot 45 in this case is fixed to a slide bar 48 insteadv of to the main slide directly, to be shiftable diagonally crosswise of the slide in a grooved channel 49 and held in any adjusted position therein by a clamp screw 50. (See Fig. l.) The rock arm 4 is actuated by a cam through a given arc of reciprocation as here indicated to move from the line 5l to the line '52. The line 51 and the diagonally disposed slide bar 48 that carries the pin 4'5 are identical,` and as will be seen, to move the slide bar and pin therein in either direction along this channel does not effect the rearward position of the main slide, but the forward position thereof may be varied, asfor instance, when the pin 45 is located at the point 53 as shown.7 the slide will travel a distance forward equa-l to the distance in a straight line forward to the point 54 which is the regulated stroke shown in this view to bring the follower fingers to the dotted position indicated- If a greater movement is required for the slide 2 the pin 45-is set further away from the axis 55 of the reciprocating arm 4, and nearer to said axis if a shorter stroke is needed, as will? be readily understood.

From the foregoing it will be a-pparent that by my improved adhesive applying means I am able to apply adhesive to flat, angular, oval, curved and concave faces or collectively by a flexible pad adapted to conform to such shapes and aided by follower members to make a close contact with such shapes.

lVhat I claim is l. In a labeling machine, means for applying adhesive to an article having curved and irregular faces to which a label is to be attached, including a. flexible pad fixed at its center portion from top to bottom to' a yielding` carrier with the remaining portions free to be flexed into curvedor angular shapes, said yield-ing carrier mounted' on a slide movable to and from the article, and means carried by the slide to press the said free portions against the article.

2. In alabeling machine, comprising means for applying adhesive to articles having curved and irregular faces to which a label may be attached, including a flexible pad supported at its center portion from top to the bottom thereof to a yielding carrier mounted on a slide with the free ends thereof adapted to be flexed to conform to irregular shapes of the article, and means carried by the slide to press the pad against such shapes, including spring controlled hinge plates to engage the back of the pad ends and fold the same around the article.

3. In a labeling machine, comprising means for applying adhesive to articles having curved and irregular faces to which a label may be attached, including a flexible pad fixed at its center portion from top to bottom and the ends thereof free adapted to assume a normal flat plane position when adhesive is applied to its face said pad supported by a yielding carrier within a recprocating slide the sides of said pad free to be flexed around the curves or angular faces of the article, and means includingl spring' controlled hinge plates carried by the reciprocating slide adapted to take angular positions against the back of the pad to ,press the free ends thereof to the article.

4'. In a labeling machine, comprising an article support means to apply adhesive to the article thereon, including a main reciprocating slide adapted to move to and from the same and a supplemental slide carried thereby having a yielding spring controlled movement therewith, a flexible pad mounted thereon at its middle section from top to bottom thereof to provide free ends of the pad, and means connected 'with the main slide to engage the free ends of the pad to both support the pad in a llat plane position at one end of the slide stroke and force the same against the article at the other stroke end.

5. In a labeling machine, comprising means to apply adhesive to articles having curved or angular surfaces by a flexible pad supported on the end of a yielding carrier mounted on a reciprocating slide, said pad fixed from top to bottom thereof at its center portion to the carrier and adapted to reciprocate to and from the article, the free portions of said pad arranged to be bent forward and contact with said curved or angular faces, and means connected with the reciprocatingr slide to fold the free pad ends around the article.

6. In a labeling machine, comprising means to apply adhesive to ,an article supported with relation to a main reciprocating slide and a supplemental slide movable therewith and yieldable against a spring action against an adjustable stop to position the forward end thereof with relation to said main slide said forward end carrying a flexible pad fixed at its center portion the free ends thereof extending to assume normally a flat plane position to receive adhesive on the front face thereof, means connected to the main slide to engage the rear of the pad to support the )ad when adhesive is applied and adapted to ex the free ends against the article when contacting therewith means for actuating the main slide and means to vary the stroke thereof at its forward end.

7 In a labeling machine, means to apply adhesive to an article having curved or angular surfaces, including a main slide and a supplemental slide carried thereby the latter having a yielding movement thereto, said supplemental slide provided at its end, with a exible pad centrally fixed on a vertical line from top to bottom thereof for flexing of the free side portions, means connected with the main slide to engage said free sides to support the same in a flat plane position at one end of the slide stroke, and at the other stroke end to press the free ends against the article.

8. In a labeling machine, comprising means for applying adhesive to an article including a reciprocating slide and a supplemental slide carrier thereby, the latter carrying a flexible pad fixed centrally thereof to have the free ends of the pad adapted to be flexed from a flat plane position thereof to the shape of the face of an article means connected to the reciprocating slide to engage the pad to flex said pad ends forward to conform to the article shape and adjustable means to reciprocate the slide from the same rearward position thereof to varying forward positions.

9. In a labeling machine, comprising means for applying adhesive to articles having curved or angular surfaces including a flexible pad adapted to assume a normal flat plane position, said pad attached at its middle section to a slide so the free ends thereof may be bent forward to conform to said curves or angular shapes of the article.

l0. In a labeling machine, comprising means for applying adhesive including a reciprocating slide provided with a yielding carrier and a flexible pad fixed thereto at its center so the free ends thereof are adapted to be flexed around irregular surfaces, said pad normally assuming a flat plane position, means carried by the slide when at one end of its stroke to support the back of the pad in its flat pla-ne position at which time a coat of adhesive is applied to its face and at the other stroke end, said means adapted to force the free ends forward and around irregular surfaces against the face of an article, means for reciprocating the slide including an adinstable stud on the slide cooperating with a slotted rocking actuating arm the motion of which is fixed between two points radial of the axis and of the arc of movement, said stud having its adjustment on one of said radial lines being the line of the return stroke of the slide and thereby effecting no change in the slide position said stud adjustment only varying the forward stroke thereof.

ll. In a. labeling machine, comprising a reciprocating slide, an adjustable stud on the slide, means to reciprocate the slide including a slotted actuating arm and a hearing block slidable therein adapted to engage the stud, said slotted arm swinging through a given are of motion to reciprocate the slide said stud located on a guide member to have its adjustment to and from the aXis when the arm is swung` to its eXtreme position of rearward stroke of the slide movement, whereby the slide retains its one rearward position on any adjustment of the stud but provide varying forward strokes of the slide.

Signed at Brookyln, N. Y., on April 3,

CHARLES R. FREDSELL. 

